DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng has been accused of being “so powerful” that he could silence the party’s national chairman Karpal Singh, who had gone public over his spat with his colleague P Ramasamy.

NONE Karpal, who was embroiled in a long-drawn battle with Ramasamy, the Penang DAP deputy chief, had decided to reserve his comments after Guan Eng ( right ) stepped in and urged all leaders not to air the DAP’s dirty linen in public.

When asked how he felt about being seen as more powerful than his party’s chief, Guan Eng said: “No, the issue does not arise.”

“Karpal will be leading the DAP in the next general election, that is more important,” the Penang chief minister told reporters today.

“We want every leader to lead but Karpal will be leading the whole party into the next GE,” he stressed, after presenting RM5,000 to the family of the late George Town deputy OCPD Ahmad Bakhtiar Kassim.

Guan Eng was responding to questions by the media on his recent statement, where he said DAP leaders have “agreed that the latest episode that has been highlighted by the BN-controlled media has ended”.

He had also urged all members to close ranks and stay focused on the historic opportunity for change to save Malaysia in the coming polls, which could be called in June.

NONE His statement came following an outburst by Karpal ( left ), who condemned as “null and void” the DAP disciplinary board’s decision clearing Ramasamy of any wrong-doing "as the committee had sat in judgment of its own panel member".

However, when told that it appeared “too simple” to merely say the matter had ben resolved, Guan Eng said “simplicity is beauty”.

“The main thing is that there is trust among the leaders. We have been together for a very long time, lets look forward to the coming election,” he answered.

NONE When asked how the crisis was resolved so speedily, Guan Eng said  DAP comrades, including party advisor and veteran Lim Kit Siang ( right ) and Chen Man Hin, had come together to talk it over with Karpal.

He added the veterans, who had gone through much together for many years, have ecided to “look forward”.

Guan Eng said the manner and speed on how the issue was put to rest also showed the quality and depth of Karpal’s leadership.

Karpal and Ramasamy were at loggerheads after the latter said the DAP should not have “godfathers” after the former chided him for allegedly declaring election candidates in a local Tamil daily, which had since retracted the report.

The Penang deputy chief minister was then responding to Karpal’s statement that it was up to the top DAP leadership to appoint election candidates and that the party should not harbour “warlords”.